Study: SLE Affects More Black Women Than Other Racial, Ethnic Groups in San Francisco County

Black, Asian and Hispanic women living in San Francisco County had an increased burden of systemic lupus erythematosus, according to the California Lupus Surveillance Project.

Researchers reviewed medical records for patients diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), defined as patients who met four or more of the 11 American College of Rheumatology classification criteria for SLE. Crude and age-standardized incidence and prevalence stratified by sex and race/ethnicity were estimated.

Results showed an overall age-standardized annual incidence rate and an average annual period prevalence of SLE of 4.6 per 100,000 person-years and of 84.8 per 100,000 persons, respectively.

Researchers noted an age-standardized incidence rate in women of 8.6 per 100,000 person-years, and of 0.7 per 100,000 person-years in men. Black women had the highest age-standardized incidence rate, according to results, followed by Hispanic women, Asian women and white women. Results showed black women, Hispanic women, Asian women and white women had an age-standardized prevalence per 100,000 persons of 458.1, 177.9, 149.7 and 109.8, respectively. Researchers noted 33 additional incidence cases and 147 additional prevalent cases were estimated by capture-recapture modeling. – by Casey Tingle

 

Disclosure: This research was supported by the CDC.